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'Sons of Anarchy' recap: Tensions, body count rise

By Chuck Barney, Contra Costa Times

Posted:
10/02/2013 06:02:03 AM EDT

(Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)

Tig lives!

Several unfortunate people bit it during Tuesday night's episode of "Sons of Anarchy," including Otto and the dastardly Lee Toric. But not Teflon Tig Trager -- the guy who just last week appeared destined for a dirt nap.

To review: Tig was sent to the port by Jax, who was finally delivering his SAMCRO mate to August to complete the eye-for-an-eye deal made under Damon Pope's regime. And when August and a couple of his goons barged in on a startled Tig, the end appeared to be near.

But early on in Tuesday's episode, Jax is stunned to find Tig on his doorstep -- a guy he never expected to see ever again. Apparently, August had no intention of killing Tig. It was just some kind of loyalty test and Jax passed.

So "SOA" creator Kurt Sutter was only setting us up for a big tease. Again. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. After all, he's pulled this kind of stuff so many times that by now we should be used to it. And this one felt like a particularly cheap trick.

But let's move on to the key elements of the over-stuffed episode: The escalating tensions with the Irish and the bloody demise of Lee Toric, both of which accompanied a terrifying confrontation between SAMCRO and some Nazi scumbags. Did we mention this episode was over-stuffed?

Later, Jax gets a call from Filthy Phil, who reports that the Irish have defied Jax by showing up at the warehouse with a full supply of guns to unload. This naturally ticks off Jax, who rushes out there with reinforcements.

But he's too late. Galen has fatally shot both Phil and V-Lin and had his thugs chop up their bodies. When Jax and the boys arrive, they find a gruesome scene: The jackets of Phil and V-Lin has been spread out on the ground with their severed hands atop them. Galen has split and all the guns in the warehouse are gone -- except for the KG-9s.

But the bloodbath was only getting started. Over at the prison, Toric is still incensed that Clay hasn't signed a deal to rat out SAMCRO. So he gets a bright idea: He'll take Clay to see a very messed-up Otto in the infirmary to give Clay a "glimpse of your future." Basically, it's a scared-straight tactic and it goes terribly awry.

Clay is, of course, horrified to see Otto, who looks like he's been through a human demolition derby. He goes to his old friend's side, hugs him and says "I'm sorry" before sneaking Otto the knife blade given to him by another prisoner.

Toric later hands Otto paper and pen and urges the volatile inmate to write the magical words that will take down SAMCRO. In exchange, Toric promises to make Otto's remaining time in prison "very comfortable."

Otto, of course, has no intention of ratting. Instead, he writes something really vile about Toric's dead sister. Toric attacks him and Otto slashes Toric's throat with the shiv before being gunned down by prison guards rushing to the scene.

Wow. Didn't see that one coming. The demented Toric, played with heinous gusto by Donal Logue, had become such a magnetic villain, that I thought he would surely be around a lot longer to torment Jax and the SAMCRO gang. But now he's dead and so is Otto -- unless, of course, Sutter pulls another cheap trick on us.

Other developments and observations:

-- We've grown accustomed to harrowing sights on "SOA." Still, the image of Wayne being strung up by the Aryans with a swastika carved into his chest has to rank among the worst.

-- Apparently, many fans were surprised to see Tig still alive. A survey by EW.com before the episode found that only 35 percent of those polled believed the character would survive.

-- Jax is being besieged on so many fronts, even ones he's unaware of (Tara's ongoing scheming). So it's a bad time for insurrection from within, but his relationship with Chibs is deteriorating. Tonight, Chibs scolds Jax for making big decisions without bringing them to the table and compares his leadership methods to Clay's. Can anyone sense an impending mutiny?

-- Toric was a creep, but a fascinating creep. We're going to miss him.

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